Day 13 – Deloraine to Devonport

Our last morning was beautiful but chilly and we sat on the river’s edge with the ducks and platypus drinking hot tea and eating hot porridge. The setting was so restful we were reluctant to get going, but coffee was calling. We packed up and set off…to the main street where, by the time we had finished our coffees, the art and craft shops were open again and we could browse through the wonderful collections of Tasmanian design and art and craft.

By the time we left it was 10am. Our back road route was still quiet and we passed through peaceful countryside…

There was a lovely shady spot about 12km before Railton which invited a rest stop.

Railton itself is a small town with a neat little park that has well-maintained toilets (important for cycle tourists!). The bakery was great and we ate salad rolls and drank more coffee made fresh by the woman who does all the baking! She talked with us about the lack of water and the unseasonal heat before we escaped without buying one of the delicious looking peppermint slices!

We only had about 14kms to go to Latrobe, our next rest stop. It was the worst section we had ridden for a few days. The road was narrow and it seemed that every second frequently passing vehicle was a truck! On top of that there was a hideous, gusty wind blowing and the smoke had become really thick. There were a couple of narrow bridges to cross with no shoulder too. By the time we hit Latrobe we were ready to be finished for the day! There are no photos of this section because I wasn’t stopping until it was over!

The visitor information centre confirmed our idea of riding along River Rd to get to Devonport instead of on the highway. The traffic was much better on this windy road, but the tide was out and the combination of mudflats, smoke, wind and heat did not really improve our outlook.

River Rd from Latrobe to Devonport – the river is low anyway, but the tide was out as well and the smoke from the bushfires was coating the horizon.

Bec’s sister had phoned to let us know they were (very kindly) going to pick us up from Devonprt and drive us out to Spreyton for the cider tasting, so once we reached the Big4 at Devonport (only 5kms from the airport), we rushed around pitching the tent and showering, aiming to feel civilised once again!

With the luxury of Helen and Craig’s car, we did cider tasting at Spreyton (it was okay but none of us loved the ciders), took photos in front of the big penguin at Penguin, and had dinner on a dairy farm in Burnie belonging to friends of Helen and Craig.

Bec, Lee, Craig and Helen being penguins with the penguin at Penguin!

It ended up being a pleasant but quite late night and we collapsed into bed after 10pm, alarms set for 5am.